Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17561 by Sarah Boyack on 6 September 2001, whether it will detail the work it is undertaking in conjunction with Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to safeguard the Inverness to Gatwick route and whether it is involved in any similar work in relation to the restoration of an Inverness to Heathrow route.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has supported the case by The Highland Council for the imposition of measures to ensure access to Gatwick from Inverness.   The Minister for Transport and Planning wrote to the UK Government on 8 October with a formal request to impose a Public Service Obligation on the Inverness-Gatwick route and to implement measures which will secure the slots required to maintain the service. No similar work is being undertaken in relation to the restoration of an Inverness-Heathrow route.

Bridges

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any maintenance work will be required on the land erosion affecting an exposed pile at pier 19 of the Kincardine Bridge; whether it will give details of any such work; when this problem was first identified; whether it has been reported to it by any agencies since and, if so, by whom and on what dates; whether it will detail any damage that has been caused to the bridge; over what timescale any such damage has occurred; what the timetable is for any repair work; how much such repairs will cost; whether the cost has risen since the problem was first identified, and, if so, by how much in both percentage and real terms.

Sarah Boyack: A potential scour problem at pier 19 of the Kincardine Bridge was first identified some years ago, and both the Forth Local Authority Consortium and Amey Highways Ltd have subsequently monitored the situation. Scouring of the bed of a river is a complex process and it is often the case that scour holes can be refilled by changing river patterns. In 1999, the Forth Local Authority Consortium (FLAC) put forward a bid to undertake remedial works involving the installation of rock protection around the base of the pier. It was then agreed with FLAC that this should be programmed for the current financial year and the work is due to be undertaken by Amey Highways Ltd in January 2002.

  Whilst the erosion has partially exposed the piles below the pier, no structural damage has occurred as a result. The estimated cost of these measures is £50,000.

  In relative terms the type and cost of repairs today is no different than it would have been had the protection measures been required at an earlier stage.

Community Care

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people each local authority employed as home helps in each of the last three years.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours home helps employed by local authorities worked in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information is detailed in the following table:

  

 

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

Percentage Change 1999/1998 
  

Percentage Change 2000/1999 
  



No of Clients 
  

Solely from local authority 
  

74,198 
  

68,116 
  

63,290 
  

-8.2% 
  

-7.1% 
  



Solely from private/voluntary sector 
  

2,896 
  

4,130 
  

4,590 
  

42.6% 
  

11.1% 
  



Combination of provision1


2,200 
  

1,812 
  

2,349 
  

-17.6% 
  

29.6% 
  



Total 
  

79,294 
  

74,058 
  

70,229 
  

-6.6% 
  

-5.2% 
  



Staff-Numbers 
  

Local authority employed staff (WTE) 
  

10,802 
  

10,158 
  

10,055 
  

0.8% 
  

-1.0% 
  



Private/voluntary sector 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  
 
 



Staff – Total Direct Client Contact Hours 
  

Local authority employed staff 
  

352,470 
  

333,205 
  

341,296 
  

-5.5% 
  

2.4% 
  



Private/voluntary sector 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  
 
 



Client Hours Provided/Purchased 
  

Solely from local authority 
  

357,675 
  

322,482 
  

321,763 
  

-9.8% 
  

-0.2% 
  



Solely from private/voluntary sector 
  

25,364 
  

30,372 
  

39,713 
  

19.7% 
  

30.8% 
  



Combination of provision1


18,187 
  

22,445 
  

31,598 
  

23.4% 
  

40.8% 
  



Total 
  

401,226 
  

375,299 
  

393,074 
  

-6.5% 
  

4.7% 
  



Hours per Client 
  

Solely from local authority 
  

4.8 
  

4.7 
  

5.1 
  

-2.1% 
  

8.5% 
  



Solely from private/voluntary sector 
  

8.8 
  

7.4 
  

8.7 
  

-15.9% 
  

17.6% 
  



Combination of provision1


8.3 
  

12.4 
  

13.5 
  

49.4% 
  

8.9% 
  



Total 
  

5.1 
  

5.1 
  

5.6 
  

0.0% 
  

9.8%2




  Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1.

  Notes:

  1. Local authorities and the independent sector working in partnership – not able to disentangle figures.

  2. As quoted in paragraph 2.12 of Fair Care for Older People (Care Development Group Report), home care worker hours spent with clients were up by 9.8 per cent.

Fisheries

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list, for each shellfish algal toxin monitoring box subjected to a Food and Environment Act 1985 closure or to a shucking restriction during the first nine months of 2001, the sampling dates and results for all tests from that box after the restriction was applied.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is lengthy and I have asked the Food Standards Agency to send a copy of the information required directly to the member. A copy of this information will also be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 16796).

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of the Aquaculture Tripartite Working Group are, what the results of its work have been to date and when its work is programmed to be completed.

Rhona Brankin: The members of the Aquaculture Tripartite Working Group are: the Scottish Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, the Association of West Coast Fisheries Trusts, Scottish Anglers National Association, Atlantic Salmon Trust and Scottish Quality Salmon.

  The group published a report and Concordat in July last year. Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  As a result of the group’s work, six area management agreements, including an umbrella agreement which will lead to five further agreements, have been signed.

  The work of the group is on-going.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of, and what progress has been made to date by, the Fisheries Research Services’ examination of nutrient inputs to, and effects on, Scottish waters and what the programmed completion date is for this work.

Rhona Brankin: It is not possible to disaggregate the cost of work on nutrient inputs and their effects from the more general environmental support provided by Fisheries Research Services (FRS). The advisory and monitoring work of FRS is generally of a long-term and strategic nature with no firm end date.

  The Scottish Executive has however commissioned an £80,000 study to develop a large-scale strategic model covering the Scottish and North sea marine environment. The model will be used to examine nutrient enrichment and the potential for eutrophication in Scottish coastal waters. The consortium involved includes FRS and a report is expected in the spring.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on, and what conclusions have been reached from, the examination of areas of coastal waters where eutrophication is most likely, using the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Fisheries Research Services’ assessment tools, and when this work programme is to be completed.

Rhona Brankin: The work on reviewing the eutrophication status of coastal areas of Scotland is currently in progress and proceeding to schedule. The work programme is due to be completed for reporting in the early part of 2002, and its conclusions will be available shortly thereafter.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the sites included in the examination of areas of coastal waters where eutrophication is most likely, using the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Fisheries Research Services assessment tools, and what the results have been to date from each site.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive is currently undertaking a review of all coastal waters around Scotland, as part of the UK’s obligation to examine areas where eutrophication occurs, or may be likely to occur. This assessment is still to be completed, and so a list of sites cannot be provided at present.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what conclusions relevant to the development of sustainable aquaculture in Scottish waters have been reached as a result of the work of the Continuous Plankton Recording project.

Rhona Brankin: The Continuous Plankton Recorder project (CPR), maintained by the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation, provides important information on the composition and abundance of algae present in the north east Atlantic. The data generated by this project are utilised as part of many assessments of the marine environment. Their particular relevance to the assessment of the environmental effects of aquaculture is in the observation of changes in coastal plankton and the influence of fluctuating oceanic currents on this process. A report using CPR data is being prepared on this question with regard to the issue of eutrophication in UK coastal waters. It is expected to be available in mid-2002.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made by its fundamental review of aquaculture regulation and whether it will detail the organisations carrying out the review, the bodies consulted, or to be consulted, during the progress of the review, the expected date for the completion of the review and the estimated cost of the review.

Rhona Brankin: The bodies consulted on the proposals I published on 29 June are listed in the table. My officials are currently considering their responses. I expect to receive their recommendations around the turn of the year. Work on the review is being discharged from within existing resources and no separate estimate of its cost has been made.

  Aquaculture Trade Associations

  Scottish Quality Salmon, Orkney Fish Farmers Association, Shetland Shellfish Growers Association, Shetland Salmon Farmers Association, Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers, British Marine Finfish Association, British Trout Association

  Wild Salmonid Organisations

  Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, Scottish Anglers National Association, Salmon and Trout Association, Atlantic Salmon Conservation Trust (Scotland), Atlantic Salmon Trust, Institute of Fisheries Management – Scottish Branch, North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation, Association of West Coast Fisheries Trusts, River Tweed Commissioners, Association of Scottish Stillwater Fisheries, Federation of Highland Angling Clubs and Associations, Orkney Fisheries Association, Orkney Trout Fishing Association, Salmon Net Fishing Association of Scotland

  Public bodies

  Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, Marine Coastguard Agency, Crown Estate Commissioners, Highland & Islands Enterprise

  Local authorities

  Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, The Highland Council, Argyll & Bute Council, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Shetland Islands Council, Orkney Islands Council, Comhairle nan Eilan Siar, North Ayrshire Council

  Non-governmental Organisations

  WWF Scotland, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Wildlife & Countryside Link, Marine Conservation Society

  Other Organisations

  Association for the Preservation of Rural Scotland, Firth of Clyde Forum, Scottish Coastal Forum, Shetland Seafood Quality Control Ltd, Scottish Landowners Federation, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland, Sea Fish Industry Authority, Bidwells Property Consultants, Highland & Islands Aquaculture Forum, The Royal Town Planning Institute in Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, Stirling University (Institute of Aquaculture), Rural Forum (Scotland), Skye Environment Centre.

  Four individuals.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on the development of a specification for an independent scientific review of any link between fin fish farming and shellfish poisoning syndrome events, whether any experts have been appointed to undertake the work, and, if so, what the estimated cost and completion date are of the review.

Rhona Brankin: A specification for the review has been prepared and independent experts who may be prepared to carry out the review identified. Contracts have yet to be finalised but study specifications and background reports and other materials have been sent to these experts. It is expected that the reviewers will report in spring 2002. The estimated cost of these contracts is in the range of £10,000-£20,000.

General Practitioners

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assurances are given to GPs who are considering Personal Medical Services employment regarding their superannuation benefits.

Susan Deacon: Guidance has been issued to Primary Care Trusts advising that existing superannuation benefits for GPs (both independent contractors and salaried) providing Personal Medical Services (PMS) under a pilot scheme remain unchanged for the period of the pilot.

  For permanent PMS schemes, there will be no change to the superannuation arrangements for GPs who provide PMS under a practice-based agreement. We are in discussions with SPPA over the position of permanent salaried PMS GPs.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether doctors or pharmacists could be charged with culpable and reckless conduct for dispensing amounts of methadone above the recommended levels which later result in death.

Neil Davidson QC: It is possible that charges of culpable and reckless conduct could be brought against doctors or pharmacists in these circumstances. However, any charges and subsequent prosecutions would be determined entirely by the specific circumstances surrounding each case.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3843 by Susan Deacon on 27 September 2001, what measures are being taken to promote the better use of antibiotics.

Susan Deacon: The Executive has orchestrated, or been involved in, a number of initiatives aimed at raising public and professional awareness of antimicrobial resistance and the appropriate use of antibiotics. These include:

  a high profile public awareness campaign, including distribution of posters and leaflets and media briefings;

  the development of an Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance for Scotland;

  several large professional conferences and symposia during the last 12 months, including one at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh;

  an approach by Deputy Chief Medical Officer to the Scottish Medical Schools to encourage adequate coverage of the issue in the medical curriculum;

  regular reviews by Prescribing Advisers of antibiotic prescribing by GPs, feedback on GP prescribing of antibiotics and computer system facilities to allow GPs to develop their own prescribing protocols for these drugs;

  a number of clinical guidelines, including Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines, to help doctors and dentists prescribe appropriately, and

  an undertaking (as part of the Scottish Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance) to work with Drug and Therapeutics Committees to ensure that policies are in place for the appropriate use of antibiotics, and that mechanisms are established to monitor them.

  Similar initiatives are also being taken forward to encourage better use of antibiotics in veterinary practice and animal husbandry.

Planning

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation, including subordinate legislation, exists to control the exterior decoration of properties.

Lewis Macdonald: Planning legislation controls "development", which is defined in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 as "the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land". The Act goes on to specify that the carrying out of works for the maintenance, improvement or other alteration of any building does not involve development, if it affects only the interior of the building or does not materially affect the external appearance of the building.

  The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, grants planning permission for the stone cleaning or painting of the exterior of any building or works except if the painting is for the purposes of advertisement, announcement or direction; or if the building or works are in a conservation area; or where the building is a listed building.

Planning

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on modernising the planning system in light of the issues raised in Planning Services: Third Annual Report of the Planning Audit Unit 2000 .

Lewis Macdonald: The report highlighted six issues to be addressed by the Executive. Progress has been as follows:

  Most telecommunications developments have been removed from the scope of the General Permitted Development Order (GDPO) and brought within full planning control. This work has taken priority over reducing the complexity of the GPDO itself.

  The pro-forma for collecting development control performance data from local authorities has been revised. Performance against the revised targets will be measured from 1 October 2001.

  Work is on-going to revise the Town and Country Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Regulations 1987. Work on this theme is also continuing as part of more general initiatives to modernise the planning system.

  A consultation paper on a new building standards system was issued in July 2001. It recommends that local authorities should make access to the building standards and planning systems as closely linked as possible, and that for certain small, simple projects joint planning/building warrant applications be considered. Responses are requested by 31 October 2001, with final proposals for a new system due next spring.

  As far as the issue of trunk roads and development control is concerned, all the action points from the Audit Report have been or are being acted upon.

  Planning Advice Note 40: Development Control has been revised and has been well received.

  The progress that has been made on these issues has been achieved in the context of the main thrust of the Executive’s planning agenda this year which has included the review of strategic planning, a proposed consultation exercise on public involvement in the planning system and the preparation of a policy statement on design and quality.

Roads

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the criteria established in 1996 for defining a trunk road or network.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has no plans to review the criteria for defining a trunk road or network.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward detailed proposals to the Parliament in relation to the winding up of the Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes and whether it anticipates that payments to beneficiaries or pensioners will be made (a) this year, (b) next year or (c) later.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive will bring forward detailed proposals of the categories of beneficiaries and distribution arrangements when the Scottish Transport Group Dissolution Order is brought forward for the approval of the Scottish Parliament in the autumn. Subject to the Scottish Parliament’s approval the Executive expects to be in a position to progress the making of ex-gratia payments to all eligible beneficiaries during the course of this financial year.

Sport

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16576 by Allan Wilson on 24 August 2001, what consultation  sportscotland had with outside organisations before deciding not to make representations on recognising pigeon racing as a sport.

Allan Wilson: Sportscotland, in line with the other home country Sports Councils, responds to formal applications for recognition of sports. To date no formal application has been received by  sportscotland in respect of pigeon racing. Consequently no consultation has been carried out.

Sport

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-16576 by Allan Wilson on 24 August 2001, what criteria were used to determine that pigeon racing is not a sport.

Allan Wilson: Recognition of sport is a matter for the home country Sports Councils using agreed criteria. These criteria are employed when a formal application for recognition as a sport is received. No formal application has been received by  sportscotland in respect of pigeon racing.